That is a great accomplishment losing all that weight and improving your overall health. I really enjoyed reading your success story.

If you have time read my article about healing tendinosis
( http://www.fitnesscontrarian.com/eccentric-training-to-heal-tendinosis/ ).
Slow eccentric training may help you.

Keep up the good work.

Best – Mike

One thing that I have noticed, though, is that the biggest problem is not the muscles themselves. They respond surprisingly well to exercise almost no matter how hard I work them (so long as I don’t go completely crazy, and work out at least every third day).

Rather, it’s my tendons that won’t take the abuse now the way they would 40 years ago. For example, as the result of lifting free weights to excess a couple of years ago, the tendon that controls thumb curling became inflamed where it passes through the left wrist. Had to have a cortisone shot to bring the situation under control.

That said, having practiced the principles you mention here, and some others, I feel pleased at having lost some 30 pounds of flab over the past two years, coupled with gaining maybe 5 pounds or more of muscle. Having a Helix – Pro weight machine conveniently located in my house has been a big help. Same with dietary changes (fewer starchy foods, hardly any refined sugar, replaced mainly by more salads, salmon, squash, bell peppers, other veggies, avocados, eggs, olive oil and nuts). Not that I’m pristine; I still indulge in some dark chocolate and sugar-free (Splenda) ice cream now and then.

I’m aware of the conventional wisdom that, as one ages, one is supposedly doomed to lose 10% of one’s muscle mass per decade. Be that as it may in terms of averages, I figured I had nothing to lose by at least trying to buck the averages. I took encouragement from the way Ronald Reagan regained muscle when, as a new President, he followed a fitness regimen.

One nice thing about dropping a substantial amount of weight is that I have received a lot of positive feedback, which supplies incentive for further progress.

The only negatives have been from my wife. She feels that I am somehow criticizing her for not keeping up, even though I have yet to say Word One to that effect. “I know, but you’re THINKING it!”

Thanks for the comment.

Best – Mike